Writer's Block: Meow vs. Arf

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Dogs by default make me very nervous unless i know them already, and then i tend to find the constant attention seeking and drooling more irritating than endearing. Cats have a different style of personal space invasion that i'm more comfortable with. And they don't drool.

Weather and frighteningly interesting children

So I checked the forecast this morning to see if, much like yesterday, I could get away with wearing capris to work. Weather.com cheerfully informed me it was going up to some ridiculous high seventies number. What. It's March. I can't. Well, hopefully the fog'll burn off and the air will dry out some. This morning's chilly damp did nothing for the cold takin' holt in my chest and head.

But speaking of freakishly warm weather, it was just as gorgeous yesterday, so after a little arm twisting we convinced both kids that an afternoon at Groff Park was necessary. It because readily apparent that no one needed coats out there, not even with me changing down to a significantly lighter (and frankly better fitting) raincoat; they all eventually got peeled off and flung in the car. After that it was mostly just hanging out and playing with/observing the kids, which was its own degree of fun. Kidzilla is shy and reserved and prefers to play pretend games in her own head or with us rather than engage with other kids. That said, those games are pretty brilliant - yesterday she proposed all of us pretending to be Greek God(desse)s, though my interpretation of Demeter left her in slightly disapproving giggle fits, seeing as I extrapolated Demeter's dominion over grain to being the Lady of the Breakfast Cereal and kept demanding offerings of oatmeal, Honey Nut Cheerios and Frosted Mini-wheats. Come on, how often do you get to run around a playground yelling "I AM THE LADY OF RAISIN BRAN?" It's fun, try it.

Lil'Beast on the other hand, is a charming, sociable trip. He will play pretty much with anyone (especially little girls his size and bigger - we caught him chatting up eight year old girls), but does get rather frustrated and tantrumy if they don't play whatever game he's on "correctly." That is, according to him. Other than that, the other thing I noticed is he's pretty fearless in terms of tackling playground equipment - he was climbing around on some of the higher equipment in a fashion that had both @cell23 and I having mild heart attacks, but didn't phase him any. (Kidzilla, by contrast, in the last couple of years has developed a touch of acrophobia and in general tends to approach new challenges with trepidation.)

I don't know, these kids constantly surprise me. It's fun watching them figure out how the world works, even if sometimes prompting them on how to do it properly and sometimes independently has challenges of its own. Mostly, I'm just constantly boggled at how big they're getting. It seems like they were infants yesterday, and suddenly they've become small people with their own personalities and opinions and challenges, and I am constantly all "wait, when did that happen?" and kind of terrified that I'll blink and suddenly Kidzilla'll be graduating with her medical degree and Lil'Beast'll be, well, not so little, but probably still something of a charming beast. (Insert quip about apples and trees and how his dad inspires the same amount of loving need to whap in the head with a rolled up newspaper.) Honestly I'm glad I get to come along for the ride, and I can't wait to see what sort of grown-ups these two make. Well, okay, I can wait. It's gonna be a sad day when they're both too big to pick up, flip upside down and tickle.

five questions from retsuko

y'all know how this works, leave a comment, I ask you five questions, you make a post answering said questions, I totally question whore in your post for more questions AND THE CYCLE WILL CONTINUE. Man, if I ever get super famous for whatever reason I'm gonna have a week long AMA on reddit and love every second of it, lol.

1) Midnight in Paris Question: Which historical era and place would you live in, if given the chance?

Tough call, most of recorded history has been pretty much shite if you look like me. Maybe ancient Egypt? IDK, I'm kinda good here. The past is only something I like to visit via books. Maybe via TARDIS.

2) How much wood would a woodchuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?

A woodchuck would chuck as much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood. (And then only if Chuck Norris says the woodchuck can chuck wood.)

3) What's going on with your beading work these days?

Stalled out. The Witch is still on the loom in the living room, giving me unfinished project guilt via judgmental stare. I'm gonna see what I can do about that in the next few days.

4) Other than The Avengers, which movie are you most looking forward to seeing in the next few months?

HUNGER GAMES! Totally going to the midnight show this week. Probably getting my ticket to that tomorrow, that is if the screaming teenagers haven't all convinced their parents they need to be up until 3am on a school night.

5) What's your favorite cocktail recipe?

I don't much go for cocktails, honestly. Generally my standard drink order when out is "Rum, Coke, a LOT of grenadine and about a fistful of cherries" and my comfort drink when at home is milk, Hershey's syrup and Irish Creme, with coffee thrown in if it's on hand.